Tim Leffel: I have different favorites for different reasons. It's hard to top Indonesia for pure variety and value for the money. Nepal took my breath away every day. I have a fond spot in my heart for Turkey because the Turks are the friendliest, most hospitable, most full-of-life people I've ever met and I lived in Istanbul teaching English for a while. I like Mexico so much I bought a little casita down there. But who knows, I may have a new favorite after my next trip...

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Murfreesboro, TN: We are getting married in November. We would like to take our honeymoon the week of Thanksgiving. We'd initailly planned on NYC, we want to see shows, museums, etc, not really beachie people. NYC has proven to be way more expensive than planned. Any suggestions?

Tim Leffel: I was just there in the fall and can assure you that NYC is definitely the most expensive city in North America, mostly because hotel costs are in the stratosphere. (Though a trip to Orlando is almost as bad.) It will be even worse for Thanksgiving week.
There are a lot of other great cities to choose from however, and all of them offer lower prices. It won't be deathly cold yet in Chicago, Montreal, or even Quebec City. You could go to the northwest and tour Portland, Seattle, and/or Vancouver. If Congress is not in session, you can probably get a decent deal in Washington, D.C. Or go the opposite direction and be warmer in Miami. It's hard to match New York for vibrancy, but most large North American cities have a wealth of museums and culture on offer these days.

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Brentwood, TN: What are the best sources to locate affordable (1 star and two star) but clean hotels, rooms with bath, in Venice, Italy for a couple in their 30's traveling in September 2006? Thank you.

Tim Leffel: Many people have come to rely solely on the Internet for info, when good old guidebooks will often do a better job. If you have access to a good library, see if you can check out several different guidebooks for Venice. If not, settle into a comfy chair in a large bookstore and browse the different ones to see which is the best match. Then buy it. Guidebook writers have to be very careful about which places they recommend and they get lots of feedback if they steer people the wrong way. After you've narrowed down the options you can see if there are reviews posted on sites such as TripAdvisor, VirtualTourist, and IgoUgo.
Also, if you're not the super-organized, every minute scheduled type, you may just want to reserve the first night or two and then have the option to move elsewhere if you find something nicer after arrival, either on your own or asking around. There should be ample availability since you're not going in the summer. Those who play things by ear are often happier with their lodging choices, especially at this budget range, because they can inspect the room before saying yes.

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Lompoc, CA : For our 60th anniversary, we plan to pay for a celebration with our three progeny, their spouses, and three still at home grandchildren, plus three other adult family members, 14 total. Any suggestions?

Tim Leffel: Wow, that's ambitious, but it sounds great! Without knowing more about you or what you want to do, here's my limited advice. First of all, you probably need to rent a huge house or several houses close together, at least part of the time. Otherwise you're jamming people into hotel rooms, which means less space and more money. You need a kitchen or two, a deck or a pool, and room to spread out. Check sites with a large database of listings, such as VRBO.com, vacationrentals.com, and cyberrentals.com. That is, unless you are planning to go the all-inclusive route, which could make sense and eliminate some planning hassles, but again will probably cost you more.
Depending on where everyone is coming from, you should probably stick to a location that's relatively easy to get to, with flights under a few hours. I'm guessing with that many schedules involved, this party is not going to go on for weeks...

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Seattle, WA: My wife and I, ages 62 and 65, are planning an around the
world trip. We must go to Bangkok for a wedding on Jan. 22, 2006. We want to make a stop in India and Must stop in Nairobi for two weeks, then we want to go on to Madrid and back to Seattle. What would be some good stop overs in the
journey and how much should we budget for economy class airfare? Thank you, Larry

Tim Leffel: Scroll up a bit and see the Bali question for agencies that sell round-the-world tickets. I would base your stopovers on your research rather than trying to make your itinerary fit extra stopovers. The flights vary quite a bit depending on airports.

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Greensboro, NC: My wife and I would like to go to Montenegro in June 2007 would like to cruise a bit on a small boat 8-10 passengers and maybe rent a car and drive inlandetc Whoshould we contact to plan and get information

Tim Leffel: The Bay of Kator is a UNESCO World Heritage site and is a great departure or arrival port. Here's a good article about the area from a British paper. telegraph.co.uk/travel/
Montenegro just voted for independence, so you're smart to go now before the hordes of tourists flood in as they have to neighboring Croatia. Montenegro's official tourism site contains extensive listings for the area and should provide some good leads on cruise operators: http://www.visit-montenegro.com/
Many of the cruise companies operating in the area seem to be based in Croatia. Here's one company that offers a large selection of different boat tours: http://www.clubadriatic.com/
I would suggest hiring a car and driver rather than renting a car. Roads in Montenegro are not exactly in tip-top shape and a local will know the routes and signs. You can easily set this up locally after arrival and if you're good at bargaining, it will probably cost you the same or less than renting a car¿with no insurance charges.
David Farley wrote a useful article on Montenegro for Budget Travel last year, complete with specific prices. budgettravelonline.com
(Farley, co-author of Travelers' Tales Prague, also wrote a Bulgarian coast article for a travel narrative site I edit, Perceptive Travel http://www.perceptivetravel.com/issues/0306/farley.html)

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Tim Leffel: Thanks for all the great questions, and for tuning in! I'm sorry I couldn't answer everything that was submitted. You can always catch up with me on my blog at http://travel.booklocker.com/

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